国门 (guó mén) — national gateway; entrance to a country; border; frontier

Definition

国门 literally means 'gate of the country' — used figuratively for China's borders, frontiers, or any symbolic entry point to the nation (e.g. airports). It carries a formal, patriotic tone in political and media contexts.

noun
national gatewayentrance to a countryborderfrontier

Examples

  • 国门。
    Běi jīng shǒu dū jī chǎng shì zhōng guó de guó mén.
    Beijing Capital International Airport is China's national gateway.
  • 国门，。
    Jūn duì zài guó mén wài xún luó, bǎo wèi guó jiā ān quán.
    The army patrols beyond the border to protect national security.
  • ，国门。
    Gǎi gé kāi fàng hòu, zhōng guó de guó mén xiàng shì jiè chǎng kāi le.
    After reform and opening up, China opened its doors to the world.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

国guócountry
门méngate

The 门 gate of the 国 country.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 國; 国 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéiclosure
Sound part声符shēngfú
或
或huò國guó
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 國 uses 囗 to show closure and 或 to give the sound.

Open 国 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →

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